NCRI – The Iranian regime’s notorious prosecutor in Golestan Province, northern Iran, threatened with imprisonment and flogging anyone who publicly violates the fast during daylight hours in the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which began this week.
The state-run Mehr news agency quoted Golestan’s Judiciary representative Mostafa Haghi as saying on June 5: “Based on Article 638 of the Islamic Penal Code, adopted in 1996, people who have no regard for the sanctity of Ramadan and break the fast in public are considered offenders and sentenced to punishment of 10 days to two months in prison, or up to 74 lashes.”
“Police will deal strongly with those breaking the fast, and judicial cases will be formed against them,” Haghi said.
He revealed that there would be extensive monitoring of the internet and social media during Ramadan. “Individuals on those networks or sites who encourage a breaking of the fast will be dealt with,” he said.
Article 638 of the Islamic Penal Code says: “Anyone caught performing or mimicking a forbidden act openly in public in addition to punishment for the act itself, will be sentenced to between ten days and two months imprisonment or 74 lashes. But if he commits an act which in itself is not punishable but hurts public chastity, he will just be sentenced to imprisonment from ten days to two months or 74 lashes.”
This law is regularly applied to instance of breaking a fast. For example, last year during the month of Ramadan, the flogging sentence was implemented in public for five people in Kermanshah and four people in the Torghabeh region of Mashhad. These people were sentenced to 74 lashes each for smoking a Hookah (water pipe) in public.
